Chair



May 16, 1933.

w. A sENGPn-:L 1,909,017

CHAIR Filed April 24, 1931 FinH Patentecl`-May 146, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM A. sENGPIEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,` AssIGNOR To THE sIxEs COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OP DELAWARE OHAIR Application led April 24,

My invention relates to improvements in chairs7 particularly office chairs of the type generally known as typewriter chairs. More particularly my invention relates to means by which adjustment of the backs of such chairs may be effected, especially the adjustment thereof in vertical directions either upy or down.

The general object of the invention is to provide means ofthe characterk indicated which is novel in construction and which is of av charactersuch that it kmay be readily manipulated to permit adjustment of the back of the chair by a person'who may or may notbe occupying thev chair.

It also is yan object `of the invention to providev means whereby the chair back may be adj-usted at will vertically either up or down and positively retained in any position of vertical adjustment to which it may be moved.

A further object 'of the invention is to provide means of novel construction bythe employment of which the back of a chair may be adjusted both vertically and pivotally with respect to the chairseat. n

To the foregoingand other ends the in- Vention comprehends the construction .and arrangement as hereinafter described in detail,` particularly pointed out in the claims, and as illustrated in the drawing wherein j I have shown a construction which embodies the invention in a form at present preferred byy me and' which has been foundv to be eminently satisfactory. ItV will be understood, however,'that the invention may be embodied in other forms ofconstruction than that shown and that changes in the detailsv o of construction `may be made within the Scope of the invention as defined `by the claims appended hereto without `departinor from the invention or the principle thereof.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 isa view in sectional side elevawith means embodying the invention; f Fig'.2 is a horizontal transverse sectional view taken o n the line 2 2 on Fig. 1;` and Fig. 31s a vertical'sectional'view takenon thefline 3*-f3 of Figg2.

' seat 7 of the chair.

' forwardly from the bar 23.

1931. serial No. 532,416.

f which is in adjustable engagement with the supporting pedestal 1. The chair iron2 is;v

provided with angle members 4 which project toward the front of the chair and are connected at their front ends by a pivot rod 5 with ears -or l-ugs 6 which are secured to the under side of thefront portion of the upon the under side of its rear portion with ears or lugs 10 which have pivotalA connection by means of a pivot rod 11 with the rear end of a link 12 comprising two spaced parallel vbars 13. The said link'is' pivotally connected at its front endv by means of a pivot rod 14 with the' chair iron 2. The

side bars 13 of the link 12 are rigidly connected together by means of the two crosswise extending parallelbars 15. The chair seat also is pivotally connected by the pivot rod 11 to the ears or lugs 16 which project forwardly from the opposite sides of a coupling member 20. The coupling member is provided with vertical slots 21 through which extendl ears or projections 22 provided upon the bar 23 which yisconnected at its Opposite ends vby fastening means such as screws 24 to the front sides of the lower The seat 7 is provided ends ofthe opposite sides 25 of the vchair Y back 26;A The earsor projections 22' extend The said ears or projections 22 are provided with'openings or holes 27therethrough through which eX- tend verticalv rods 28 which aresupported at their upper and lower ends in forwardly extendingianges 279 provided at the upper and lower'ends' of the coupling member 20.

The lower ends kof the sides 25 of the chair 'back 26 aire also connected together by means ofV a cross bar 30. kThe'backrestA orsupport 31 issec'urcd to and v'supported upon the upper ends of the sides 25.

-F or the purpose of holding the chair back in any position of vertical adjustment to which it may be moved and for releasing the same tol permit adjustment thereof, I have f provided a` lever 35 pivoted intermediate its ends upon a pivot 36 provided upon a projection 37 which extends rearwardly from the cross bar 23 previously referred to. The inner end of the lever 35 is in engagement with a movable pin 38 which is mounted in a bushing 39 located in an opening through the bar 23 at about the middle portion thereof. The front end of the said pin 38 is adapted to engage any one of a series of holes 40 provided in the rear side of the back of the coupling member 20. The holes of the series are arranged in vertical alinement as indicated in the drawing. Normally the outer end of the lever 35 is pressed toward the rear by means of a coiled spring 41 which surrounds a link 42 the rear end of which is connected to the outer end of the lever 35 while the front end thereof, which extends through an opening 43 provided in the bar 23, is connected to the inner end of a manually operable lever 44 pivoted intermediate its ends upon the front end of a projection 45 provided upon the bar 23 near one end thereof. The outer end of the lever 44 is conveniently located for manual manipulation to effect through the link 42 pivotal movement of the lever 35 to cause engagement and disengagement of the pin 38 with the holes 40 in the coupling member l20. It may be noted that the spring 41 is coiled around the link 42 with the rear end thereof seated against the inner side of the outer end of the lever 35 and with the front end thereof seated against the rear side of the bar 23. The spring 41 is in a state of compression and its tendency to expand holds the inner end of the lever 35 inwardly with the pin 38 in engagement with one of, the holes 40. It will be apparent that upon release of the pin 38 from a hole 40 the back may be adjusted either up or down as may be desired so as to locate the back rest 31 in proper relation to the back of a person who may be occupying the chair.

In the up and down movements of the back the ears 22 slide vertically upon the vertical rods 28. For the purpose of effecting pivotal movement of the back 26 about the pivot 11, and relatively to the seat 7, I have provided an adjusting means comprising a rod or link 5() the rear end of which is connected by means of a pivot 51 to the ears or lugs 52 which project forwardly from about the middle portion of the back or rear wall of the coupling 20; The front end portion of the link or rod 5() extends through openings 53 provided in the parallel cross bars 15, previously referred to. The front end portion of the said rod or link is screw threaded as shown at 54. A nut 55 which is located between the cross bars 15 is mounted upon the screw threaded portion 54 of the link 50. The nut 55 is provided upon its periphery with gear teeth which are in engagement with the worm gear 56 mounted upon a rod 57 which is rotatably supported in bearing openings 58 provided in enlarged portions 59 of the sides 13 of the link 12. The worm gear is held against longitudinal movement, in consequence of which upon rotation thereof a rotative movement of the nut 55 is effected. The latter being held against movement axially it follows that the link 50 must move lengthwise. Such movement causes a movement of the lower end of the back 26 either toward the front or toward the rear about the rod 11 as a pivot depending upon the direction of rotation of the nut 55.

As an aid in guiding the vertical movements of the back when the latter is adjusted vertically, I have provided shoulders 60 upon the inner side of the bar 23 which engage the outer side portions of the opposite edges of the coupling member 20.

rlhe tendency of the spring 61, operating through means not shown, is to hold the rear end portion of the seat 7 in elevated position. rl`he spring 61 however is yielding and permits depression of the rear portion of the seat 7.

It will be seen that by my invention I have provided a relatively simple construction by means of which the back of the chair may be adjusted vertically either up or down and may also be pivotally adjusted relatively to the seat 7 about the pivot rod 11.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a chair, the combination of a chair back having crosswise extending bars at its lower end, one of the said bars being spaced inwardly from the other, a support with which the said back is in slidable engagement for vertical adjustment thereof, positioning means mounted upon the inner of said bars which is adapted to engage a cooperating portion of the said support to retain the back in adjusted positions, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends upon the said inner bar, one end of said lever engaging the said positioning means to cause movement thereof into and out of engagen'ient with the saidV co-operating portion, and means having connection with the other end of said lever for actuating the same to control the said positioning means to permit vertical adjustment of the said back.

2. In a chair, the combination of a back having opposite side members, bars connecting the lower ends of said side members, said bars being spaced from each other and one of the said bars being located in front of the other, a support for said back, means for slidably connecting the front bar with and securing the same upon the said support, said support having a series of openings in its rear side, means mounted upon the said front bar and movable into and out of engagement with the said openings, a

lever pivoted intermediate Vits ends on said front bar and having one end thereof in engagement with the said means, a second lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said front bar one end of which projects outwardly and terminates in adjoining relation to one end of the said front bar,` a connection between the other end of said second named lever and the adjoining end of the first named lever whereby pivotal movement of the second named lever causes pivotal movement of the first named lever to actuate the said means to engage and disengage the same with and from the openings of the said support.

3. In a chair, the combination of a seat,

' a back having opposite side members, transversely extending bars having connection at their opposite ends with the lower ends of the said sides, the said bars being spaced from each other and one being located in front of the other, a coupling, means for pivotally connecting said .coupling with the said seat, vertical rods provided upon said coupling, ears projecting from one of the said transverse bars and slidably engaging the said rods to permit vertical adjustment of the back with respect to the said coupling, and means interposed between the said transversely extending bars for engaging the front bar and the said coupling to hold the back in any position of verticaladjustment to which it may be moved. y

4. In a. chair, the combination of a seat, a back having opposite side members, a transversely extending bar connected at its opposite ends to the lower ends of the said side members, a coupling, means for pivotally connecting the said coupling to the said seat, said coupling being provided with vertical rods spaced from each other, projections on said bar iny slidable yengagement with said rods, and the said coupling being provided with a plurality of o enings in its rear side, means projecting t rough the said bar and adapted to engage any one of the said o enings, a lever pivoted intermediate its en s on said bar and extending transversely of the said chair back, Vone end of the said lever constituting the inner end of and the other end thereof the outer end, said inner end being in Vengagement with the said'means, a second'lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said bar and having inner and outer ends, a connection between the inner end of said second lever and the outer end of the first `named lever, yielding means tending to cause movement of the said for controlling the means for engaging the said openings.

5. In a chair, the combination of a seat, a back, a coupling secured to the seat, a vertical rod carried by the coupling, a slidable connection between the back and the rod, for mounting the back for vertical adjustment with respect to the coupling, cooperating `guiding, means between the back and the coupling to guide the back in its vertical adjustment, and means for securing the back in dilerent positions of vertical adjustment with respect to the coupling.

6. In a chair, the combination of a seat, a back, a coupling secured to the seat, a vertical rod carried by the coupling, a slidable connection between the back and the rod, for mounting the back for vertical adjustment with respect to the coupling, cooperating guiding means between the back and the coupling to guide the back in its vertical adjustment, interengaging means between the back and the coupling for securing the former in diferent positions of vertical adjustment with respect to the latter, and a lever carried by the back for operating said interengaging means.

7 In a chair, the combination of a seat,

a back, a coupling secured to the seat andv coupling adjacent to the respective slots, f

means secured to the back and passing through and movable lengthwise of they respective slots and slidably engaging the respective rods, for mounting the back for vertical adjustment with respect to the coupling, and means for securing the back in different positions of vertical adjustment with respect to the eouplin In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have hereunto signed my name this 21 day of April, A. D., 1931.

WILLIAM A. SENGPIEL.

outer end of the irstrnamed lever toward the rear, the outer end of the second named lever being located in adjoining relation to the lower end of one side of the said chair back Y and kbeing manually operable for causing pivotal movement of the first named lever CRTI'FICATE or CoiiECTIoN.

Patent No. 1,909,017. May 16, 1933.

WILLIAM A. SENGPIEL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 50. claim 4, strike out the word "of"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of June, A. D. 1933.

M. J. Moore.

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

